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Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Irrigation

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The Effect Of Water Management And Ratoon Rice Cropping On Methane Emissions And Harvest Yield In Arkansas, Marguerita Leavitt Aug 2022

The Effect Of Water Management And Ratoon Rice Cropping On Methane Emissions And Harvest Yield In Arkansas, Marguerita Leavitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable intensification of rice farming is crucial to meeting human food needs while reducing environmental impacts. Rice produces 8% of all anthropogenic CH4, which is a potent greenhouse gas. CH4 emissions can potentially be reduced by cultivation practices that minimize the number of days the fields are saturated, such as dry-seeding instead of water-seeding and irrigation using the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique instead of delayed, continuous flooding (DF). Ratoon cropping, wherein a second crop of rice is grown from the harvested stubble of the first crop, can be used to produce additional yield with minimal labor, but may …


Irrigation Practice Adoption: Causes And Consequences In The Arkansas Delta, Kerr James Adams May 2018

Irrigation Practice Adoption: Causes And Consequences In The Arkansas Delta, Kerr James Adams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about groundwater depletion from conventional irrigation agriculture in the Arkansas Delta region have led to the promotion of more efficient irrigation practices. With Arkansas being the largest producer of rice, the 10th largest producer of soybeans and the 16th largest producer of corn in the United States, the irrigation demand of these crops has put pressure on producers to find ways to irrigate more efficiently. Not only are the alternative technologies supposed to reduce water use, it is also believed that their adoption can also yield economic benefits for the producer. Despite these assumed benefits, adoption of alternative technologies …


How To Collect Your Water Sample And Interpret The Results For The Irrigation Analytical Package, Bradley J. Austin, Leo Espinoza, Chris Henry, Mike Daniels, Brian E. Haggard Feb 2017

How To Collect Your Water Sample And Interpret The Results For The Irrigation Analytical Package, Bradley J. Austin, Leo Espinoza, Chris Henry, Mike Daniels, Brian E. Haggard

Fact Sheets

Irrigation represents a significant portion of the total production cost for crops. Because of this it is important to have your water tested to ensure that it is suitable for the crops you are growing, and to aid in developing management plans that might help alleviate existing issues such as high salt levels or high alkalinity. The Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC) in cooperation with the UA Cooperative Extension Service offers several analytical packages to assess the quality of your water resources. This document is intended to provide guidance to farmers on collecting water samples for analysis and understanding the …


Agricultural Water Management In The Missippi Delta Region Of Arkansas, H. Don Scott, James A. Ferguson, Linda Hanson, Todd Fugitt, Earl Smith Aug 1998

Agricultural Water Management In The Missippi Delta Region Of Arkansas, H. Don Scott, James A. Ferguson, Linda Hanson, Todd Fugitt, Earl Smith

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agriculture is the largest use of soil and water resources in eastern Arkansas. This bulletin summarized the recent historical use of soil and water by agriculture and the impact of irrigation on yields of rice, soybeans and cotton. The experiments conducted in the field to quantitatively schedule irrigations of crops are summarized. The results show the close relationship between the irrigation of crops and the extraction of water from the Alluvial Aquifer. The implications of this relationaship for the future are discussed.


Improving Irrigation Scheduling And Water Use Efficiency In Cotton, Derrick M. Oosterhuis Jun 1989

Improving Irrigation Scheduling And Water Use Efficiency In Cotton, Derrick M. Oosterhuis

Technical Reports

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) is an important crop in the southern United States. The crop is grown in both irrigated and rainfed situations and is seldom free from periods of water shortages at some stage during the season. In recent years the need for consistency in yields and a stable cash flow has resulted in a rapid expansion in the number of irrigated acres of cotton in the Mississippi Delta. Irrigation research has, however, not kept pace with this expansion. This project represents a start at meeting this urgent need. The influence of weather patterns necessitates that these studies be …


The Behavior Of Soluble Salt In Sharkey Clay- Ii, J. T. Gilmour, R. E. Baser, H. D. Scott, J. A. Ferguson Jun 1986

The Behavior Of Soluble Salt In Sharkey Clay- Ii, J. T. Gilmour, R. E. Baser, H. D. Scott, J. A. Ferguson

Technical Reports

Soluble salts have been shown to accumulate in Arkansas soils in sufficient quantities to impair crop plant growth. The major objective of this study was to describe the behavior of soluble chloride salt over long time periods in Sharkey clay - a major Mississippi Delta soil. Prior to flooding rice, leaching of chloride in response to rainfall was observed. The inclusion of a sandy subsoil layer reduced this effect presumably by limiting downward movement of water under unsaturated conditions. No lateral movement of the chloride salt was found during the period prior to flooding. Removal of soluble chloride salts from …


The Behavior Of Soluble Salt In Sharkey Clay, J. T. Gilmour, J. A. Ferguson, H. D. Scott, R. E. Baser Sep 1985

The Behavior Of Soluble Salt In Sharkey Clay, J. T. Gilmour, J. A. Ferguson, H. D. Scott, R. E. Baser

Technical Reports

Soluble salt problems do exist and are significant in Arkansas. Studies have been conducted on Crowley silt loam (Typic Albaqualfs) which have established the behavior of soluble salt in that soil. The major objective of this study was to quantify the behavior of soluble salt in a second important Mississippi River Delta soil - the Sharkey (Vertic Haplaquepts). To this end, estimation of the downward redistribution of salt and the estimation of various components of the water balance for this soil served as specific objectives. Field studies were designed to monitor the movement of salt in the Sharkey soil and …


Identification Of Critical Water Levels In Flooded Rice Fields, Carl L. Griffis Aug 1984

Identification Of Critical Water Levels In Flooded Rice Fields, Carl L. Griffis

Technical Reports

A mathematical model was developed to simulate the transient hydrology of a flooded rice field. With the model, users can determine the critical interlevee areas in which to monitor the water levels so that the irrigation well can be turned on at the critical low water level, and turned off at the critical high water level, in order to maximize water application efficiency. Sensitivity analysis performed with the model showed that it will be necessary to calibrate the model for each specific field. A calibration procedure has been developed.


A Survey Of Soils Irrigated With Arkansas River Water, John T. Gilmour, H. D. Scott, R. E. Baser Mar 1983

A Survey Of Soils Irrigated With Arkansas River Water, John T. Gilmour, H. D. Scott, R. E. Baser

Technical Reports

Interest in the use of Arkansas River water for irrigation has increased recently as land adjacent to the river is converted to crop production and river water is considered as an alternative to depleted underground supplies. Since the Arkansas River can contain elevated concentrations of sodium chloride, this study was designed to determine if soil conditions adverse to crop growth were developing where river water has been used. The impact of river water on sites where river water was used as either the sole source for up to 3 years or as a supplement to another surface source for up …


Expansion Potential For Irrigation Within The Mississippi Delta Region, Robert N. Shulstad, Ralph D. May, Jon Mark Erstine, Blake N. Phillips, Billy E. Herrington Jr. Mar 1983

Expansion Potential For Irrigation Within The Mississippi Delta Region, Robert N. Shulstad, Ralph D. May, Jon Mark Erstine, Blake N. Phillips, Billy E. Herrington Jr.

Technical Reports

17.6 million acres, or 73 percent, of the Mississippi Delta Region is currently cropland and possesses the physical characteristics of slope, texture and soil type which are recommended for irrigation. Economic feasibility of expanding irrigation by flood, furrow and center pivot methods were examined under 24 scenarios representing two sets of crop prices, yield levels, production costs, opportunity costs and six crop rotations. Irrigation was economically feasible for 56 to 100 percent of the cropland across all scenarios. Approximately 88 percent of the cropland can be economically irrigated with flood or furrow in its present form, 8 percent yield highest …


Subsurface Irrigation Research In Arkansas, John P. Hoskyn, Billy B. Bryan Jun 1969

Subsurface Irrigation Research In Arkansas, John P. Hoskyn, Billy B. Bryan

Technical Reports

A pilot study conducted in 1963 indicated that (1) cotton yields could be increased by subirrigation, (2) drilled orifices were unsatisfactory because of internal plugging caused by burrs and drilling particles, and (3) operating pressures of 5 and 10 psi were excessive, and 5 psi probably should be considered as an upper-limit pressure. A greenhouse study of a subirrigation system indicated that 2 psi should, in general, for in-wall orifices, be considered as a lower-limit pressure when orifices are built into the pipe wall. The greenhouse study also indicated that a placement depth of 12 inches was preferable to 18 …